United States

Two days after the US military began to move the controversial THAAD anti-missile system into its deployment site in a South Korean golf course (over the protests of hundreds of locals who were promptly quieted when the police showed up), despite vocal protests from China which is "resolutely opposed" to the THAAD deployment and  believes such a move would destabilize the regional balance of power, China said on Thursday that it would stage live fire drills and test new weapons to protect its national security, its Defense Ministry said.

Trump 100, Margin Debt Stock Bubble and Gold

European shares are lower, pressured by disappointing results by Deutsche Bank and ending a six-session gain, as Asian equities and S&P futures were little changed after a record-setting rally in world stocks which pushed the MSCI World index to over $50 trillion yesterday, fizzled after Trump released unconvincing tax cut plans prompting traders to "sell the news" while caution set in as the ECB met.

On the surface, Deutsche Bank's results this morning came in better than expected with first quarter earnings more than doubling as Germany’s biggest bank benefited from a pick-up in market activity at the start of the year. In the three months to March, Deutsche managed to make a net profit of €575m, more than double from €236m in the same period a year earlier, when market were shaken by concerns over Deutsche’s viability, and above consensus estimates of €522m.

Authored by Pater Tenebrarum via Acting-Man.com,

Slightly Premature Victory Laps